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dijous, 19 de novembre de 2009

Dido, Queen of Carthage. By Isabel Barceló

EsEdiciones has just released Dido, reina de Cartago (Dido, Queen of Carthage), by Isabel Barceló. This is a historical novel of adventures based on the character of Dido, the Phoenician Queen who was the founder of Carthage. Dido has always been a very well known historical character and we can find her in works by Virgil, Marlowe or Henry Purcell.

Queen Dido and a group of loyal followers had to scape from their homeland (the Phoenician city of Tyre) to avoid a Civil War as Dido’s brother wouldn’t allow her to share power with him. This was the beginning of an epopee which would led them to wander accross the Meditterranean Sea in search of a new land to establish themselves, the future and legendary city of Carthage...

In this novel Isabel Barceló tells the story of Dido, who was, according to ancient Greek and Roman sources, the founder and first Queen of Carthage (in modern-day Tunisia). She is best known from the account given by the Roman poet Virgil in his Aeneid, and for her love affair with Trojan prince Aeneas.

Dido’s eventful journey offers us a story which unfolds adventures, love, passion and treason. Told from the Phoenician point of view, this is a chant to collective memory and a story about feelings and human conflicts, about the admiration and love that this outstanding woman aroused amongst her people.

But this is not only a historical novel of adventures: Dido, Queen of Carthage, also offers a re-reading of classic sources, which have always depicted the Queen as a fragile woman madly in love with Aeneas. Here, Isabel Barceló, focuses on the political side of the Queen: a ruler who was able to protect her people and who wittingly took the best decisions to ensure their survival and their future.

Isabel Barceló was born in Alicante and lives in Valencia. She holds degrees in Philosophy and Literature and has published many articles and short stories. Since 2006 she is also the writer of the literary blog ‘Mujeres de Roma’ (Roman Women) which receives more than 100.000 visits every year and where she writes literary pieces that she discusses with her readers and followers.